The Burning Earth
by Matt Guthrie
Summary: A rewrite of the original, which got deleted. A powerful young man with an unknown past is rescued from life as a gladiator in a prison run by the Fire Nation. Can the new addition to their group be trusted? Will deviate from the cartoon at times, and will be considerably darker in places. T for violence, and some mild language. Co-written with Kidtales.
1. Chapter I - Bloodsport

**Hi everyone! The first version of this story got deleted, and I (Matt) kinda lost interest in fan fiction for a while, but now We're back, and we're going to make this new version of the story better than the one before it. **

**We don't own anything except for our own characters. Enjoy. **

Chapter I - Bloodsport

"When are we going to set up camp for the night?" An annoyed voice wined.

"Soon, Sokka. Just be patient a little while longer." A female one replied.

Aang sighed as he gripped the reins of his white-furred flying bison, Appa. This was the third time in the span of about an hour that his companions, Sokka and Katara, had had this exact same exchange. Although it was perhaps to be expected from a brother and sister, it still tended to grow annoying at times.

"I'm with you, Sokka. I think I'm going to be sick if we stay in the saddle for too long." A third voice piped in.

Twelve-year-old Toph had just joined the group the night before, and as such, was unaccustomed to spending an extended amount of time flying on the back of a sky bison, which had been long thought to be extinct. For that matter, as far as Aang knew, she had very rarely even left her family's luxurious estate before joining them.

"Can we start my earthbending lesson once we set up camp, Toph?" Aang asked, glancing back at the girl who was currently lying up against the saddle, relaxing and staring up at nothing.

As the Avatar, Aang was the only person in the universe capable of bending all four elements - earth, water, air, and fire. The only problem was that he only knew air and water right now. And although Toph may have seemed like a strange choice for the Avatar's earthbending teacher, she possessed talent and skill far beyond her years.

"Sure thing, Twinkle Toes," Toph replied, a faint smirk crossing her face at Aang's anxiousness to start his training. If only he knew what she was going to put him through..

As this conversation went on, Sokka was looking over the side of the saddle, rather bored with the flight. It was about this time that he suddenly spotted a human figure falling from a top window of a tall, wooden structure about thirty yards down. He could just barely hear the person's fearful screams as he plunged to his likely doom. Even if he alerted Aang to the sight and sound, they were too far away to save him. Still, the faint scream was enough to catch Aang's attention anyways, and caused him to look down.

"Whoa, what was that?" The airbender shouted.

"What was what?" Toph replied as a reminder of her blindness.

"Somebody fell from a roof!" Sokka explained before turning to Aang. "Do you think we should check this out? I mean, where there's smoke, there's a fire."

"There's smoke now too?" Toph asked, sitting up and trying to smell it.

Sokka sighed and glared at her, though she couldn't see it. "It was a figure of speech."

Toph was quiet for a moment, then shrugged and said, "I don't get it, but okay."

Aang surveyed the building below them before answering Sokka's question. "It doesn't look like there's any Fire Nation activity going on down there, but sure, let's take a look."

He piloted Appa to the roof and landed on it. One by one, he and his friends dismounted and looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. However, beneath their feet, they could hear shouting and jeering and...weapons clanging?

Aang lept into a nearby tree and hung down from a branch, peering into one of the open windows. He could see Fire Nation soldiers standing in a circle inside, cheering for one of two men in the center. Aang's view from the tree limb was far from perfect, but judging by the swords held by both men and the torn, dark red prison uniforms they wore, he presumed that they were gladiators; several of which the soldiers had wagered on in a death match.

As Aang watched, the first gladiator, a tall, very young man with dark dreadlocks hanging halfway down his back, seemed to get an upper hand, knocking his older opponent to the ground.

Sokka and Katara joined Aang in the three and together, the three of them looked on in shock as the younger man brought down his sword, killing his opponent while the cheers of the soldiers increased. With a look of mixed remorse and fear, the young man walked to the edge of the circle and took a bottle of sake from a soldier who was collecting money from his comrades.

"We need to stop this!" Katara whispered harshly, trying not to be heard by the soldiers. "It's horrible what they're doing to those poor prisoners!"

"Poor prisoners?" Sokka demanded. "The guy who just won looks like he could kill half the soldiers with his bare hands!"

"That's not the point!" Katara shot back. "He's scared. He's being forced to kill other prisoners, or the soldiers will most likely kill him."

Aang made the final decision. "She's right. Let's do this." He vaulted from the tree branch back up to the roof so he could explain what was going on to Toph.

"What's going on down there?" Toph asked when she detected Aang. "I can tell something bad's going on down there, but I can't tell exactly what."

"Apparently this is some sort of Fire Nation prison," Aang replied. "The prisoners are being forced to fight to the death, and we need to stop them. Wait with Appa on the ground. The building itself seems to be made out of metal and wood, so I don't think you can bend anything if you fight upstairs like the rest of us."

Toph sighed and crossed her arms. "No fair, you guys get to beat up a bunch of soldiers while I sit here and do nothing."

"We'll be quick, I promise." Aang said as he airbent both of them into the saddle. He flew Appa to the ground and dropped him and Toph off, then came back up to meet back up with Sokka and Katara. Through the window, he could see that the tall gladiator was already locked in another match, and had the upper hand over his next opponent; a bald, burly man who lacked his opponent's agility and speed.

"Are you guys ready? Wait for my signal," Sokka told the team.

They didn't have to wait long before the burly man disappeared from view, likely on the ground, dying if not already dead. Once again, some of the Fire Nation soldiers erupted into cheers, while the others groaned, knowing they had lost their bets.

"Now!"

Sokka unsheathed a metal boomerang and threw it at the back of a soldier's head while Aang leapt through the window and blasted several people away with a furious gust of wind. Katara followed, extracting moisture from the humid air and freezing it onto another two soldiers, effectively immobilizing them. The gladiator, having noticed that they were attempting to rescue him, plunged his sword into a soldier's abdomen, then drew a smaller dagger and thrust it into another soldier's neck.

Once the soldiers realized what was happening, they lept into action, grabbing their weapons and looking around for the sudden intruders, who had vanished for a moment. When one of them spotted the group, he pointed and alerted the rest of the brigade to their presence. "Over there!"

The one who had spoken was quickly taken out by a blast of water from Katara, before the other soldiers charged in, some ditching their weapons to bend instead at the teenagers.

Aang dodged a fire blast before retaliating with a wave of air that blew a soldier into the air and caused him to land directly on another soldier, effectively knocking both out.

Sokka had come through the window last and was now in a one on one fight with a soldier. The soldier took him by surprise, and he was knocked to the ground by a blast of fire. Before he could get up though, the soldier approached him and raised his spear high above his head…

...Only to have his neck twisted at an impossible angle by the gladiator. The soldier fell dead to the ground as the gladiator helped Sokka get back on his feet.

"You okay?" He asked, incapacitating a soldier by use of pressure points.

"Fine," Sokka replied, clubbing another soldier over the head.

"Don't get captured by the Fire Nation, or else this might happen. You really don't want to be a gladiator. Trust me."

The gladiator turned around to stab a soldier through the side when he noticed the young captain of the regiment approaching with two glowing swords. The gladiator lunged at him only to have his sword knocked out of his hands. The captain crossed the heated blades and pointed them inches from his throat.

"You will die!" he hissed. "And your rescuers will follow."

Two soldiers grabbed the gladiator by the arms and held him tight, making it much more difficult for him to move, no matter how much he struggled.

"But first…" The captain took one of the swords and held the blade at the side of the gladiator's neck.

The gladiator screamed as the blade seared that small bit of flesh, then another, and another, and another. Soon, written in burn marks on the gladiator's neck were the figures 混血 (mixed race), one final humiliation before a torturous death.

But before an execution could be carried out, the captain was blown away by a blast of wind, while one of the soldiers restraining the gladiator was blasted out the window by a furious stream of water. Now free, the gladiator picked his sword back up and cut off the arm of the other soldier who had been restraining him before impaling him through the chest. As the soldier fell to the ground, dead, the remaining soldiers continued to advance, their confidence not shaken by their allies lying on the ground. They continued to fight back, intent on not letting their prisoner or the newcomers escape.

The Captain had already resorted to desperate measures by setting the wooden walls of the building on fire. No gladiator ever escaped from him and his regiment, and this one would not be the first.

Dodging a swing from another soldier, Sokka took a quick glance around the now-burning room before calling over to Aang, "Uh, Aang, I think we should get out of here, like, now!"

Aang blew another soldier back before looking up and nodding. "You're right. We'll be fried if we stay in here!" Turning towards Katara and the gladiator, who were currently working together against the soldiers, he yelled to them, "Katara! Uh, other dude! Let's go!"

Katara looked back at the sound of Aang's voice and ran over, being sure not to leave the gladiator behind. When they had all regrouped together, Aang took the lead towards the door which led back downstairs.

The gladiator stepped in front of him when they reached the door. "Just follow me. I know my way around here."

He charged down the stairs, followed by his rescuers, and shoved his way past any soldiers who crossed them. After descending a couple flights of stairs, they ended up on the floor where most of the prisoners were kept. The gladiator wasted no time hacking at the locks with his sword, freeing a few prisoners at a time.

"What are you doing?!" Sokka demanded. "The prison is burning! We have to get out of here!"

"Then go ahead and save yourself. I'm not leaving the prisoners in here."

"He's right, Sokka," Aang agreed. "We should help him free the others."

Seeing that Katara had started looking for a set of keys for the cell locks, Sokka shrugged and started to do his part as well. The other prisoners thanked them as they were freed. A few of them saw soldiers approaching the area and charged recklessly at them, seeking retribution for weeks, months, and in rare cases years of cruel mistreatment. But the malnourished, unarmed prisoners were no match for trained, armed soldiers, who impaled, burned, and slashed them with no mercy.

"No no no no!" The gladiator panicked and started yelling at the other prisoners, "Go the other way! You're free!"

"Just leave them!" Sokka shouted impatiently. "They really want to fight the soldiers, so let them. We need to get out of here!"

The gladiator ignored him. "Come on! This way! You can be free again!"

The other prisoners did not heed his words, instead hopelessly charging at the soldiers in retribution for all the mistreatment to which they had been subjected. In droves, they fell, with the soldiers taking few casualties. The gladiator realized that Sokka was right, and glanced at the prisoners sadly before following him and his friends down another set of stairs.

At the next floor, they met up with Toph, who had dispatched the guards on the lower levels of the building. However, the area was engulfed in flames, with only a small space in the adjoining hallway available for them to jump through without being set on fire. Wooden supports snapped, and sections of the roof came crashing around them.

To their surprise, the gladiator stepped forward and siphoned the fire away from the hall, blasting it aside. Sokka stared in astonishment.

"You're-You're a-!"

"Yes, I'm a firebender. Now let's get moving!"

In single file, they ran through the hallways and down more stairs, with the gladiator leading the charge. Before too long, they seemed to reach the exit, only to have more Fire Nation soldiers - likely reinforcements - block their way. The gladiator sent a fireball their way, only to have it redirected back at him, knocking him down. Before he could get up, a soldier approached with little more than a metal pipe and hit him in the head with it. Another kicked him in the ribs.

Katara froze the two soldiers to the wall while Aang blasted the others away with his air staff. The gladiator struggled to get up and led them outside. For the first time in months, he was free.

"Finally!" He exclaimed exhaustedly, breathing raggedly. "I'm free again! I'm-!"

**Before he could finish, he collapsed onto the ground. The last thing he saw before he slipped into unconsciousness was a large, white, furry animal, and the last thing he heard was the voice of one of his rescuers. **


	2. Chapter II - Nightmares and a New Ally

Chapter II - Nightmares and New Allies

When the gladiator's eyes cracked open again, the first thing he noticed was that the clouds seemed to be flying past him. In alarm, he bolted upright and looked around to get a better sense of where he was. He noticed that he was in the leather saddle of a very large, white, furry animal with four other people; two boys and two girls, none of which looked to be any older than fifteen.

"W-where am I?" He asked groggily. "And who are you people?"

"We're the people who rescued you a few hours ago," the younger boy replied, looking at him from over his shoulder. "And this is Appa, my flying bison."

"Flying bison?" The gladiator asked, frowning. "Didn't they all die out a hundred years ago? And why do I remember seeing you...airbend?"

"I'm the last airbender," The younger boy replied. He hesitated before adding, "I'm Avatar Aang."

The gladiator stared at him in mixed astonishment and confusion. This young boy was the master of all four elements? Had he not disappeared one hundred years ago?

"You're… Sorry, I'm a little out of it. Getting hit in the head with a metal pipe tends to have that effect."

"He's the Avatar," the older girl reaffirmed. "And we're his friends."

"I'm Sokka," The older boy introduced himself, then gestured to the older girl. "And this is my sister, Katara. The one in green over there is Toph."

"Hey," Toph greeted him from her relaxed pose a few feet away.

"One day I'm fighting to the death against other prisoners simply to entertain some drunk Fire Nation soldiers, and the next I'm flying with the Avatar of all people. What are the odds?" He paused. "What exactly brings you all out here? There's only one of you who I think is from anywhere near here."

"I have to master all of the elements before Sozin's Comet arrives," Aang explained.

"Sozin's Comet? Isn't that when the Fire Nation took over much of the world?" A startling realization dawned upon him. "Oh no… It's coming back?!"

"It's coming back," Sokka replied with a nod. "And he's still got to learn earthbending and firebending in just a few more months." He then turned to Aang. "..No pressure. Now you've got Toph to teach you that."

"So basically, the four of you are trying to teach him everything in a few months while fighting the Fire Nation along the way?" The gladiator asked.

"Pretty much," Katara replied.

The gladiator smiled somewhat wolfishly. "Then I want in."

The two boys looked at each other, then back at the gladiator. "I don't know if that's such a good idea," Sokka told him.

"Why not?" Toph asked.

Sokka glanced at her. "He's a ruthless killer, that's why. He killed several Fire Nation soldiers while we were fighting our way out. This kind of thing will bring all kinds of bad attention to us, and that's the last thing we need."

"He's a firebender," Katara mentioned. "He can teach Aang firebending."

"Actually," the gladiator confessed, "I don't know a whole lot of firebending. Just the basics. I know a lot more earthbending."

Sokka looked at him in confusion. "Wait a minute, you can do both? How's that possible?!"

"I'm a half-blood," The gladiator explained. "One parent was of the Fire Nation, and the other was of the Earth Kingdom."

"Even so, I thought the Avatar was the only one who could bend more than one element!"

"Guess I'm just lucky," The gladiator shrugged. "So can I join or not? I don't really have a home, so where else am I supposed to go?"

"I think we should let him join." Toph opined.

"I think so, too." Katara agreed.

"He'll make Aang look bad," Sokka stubbornly objected. "The Fire Nation already thinks we're the bad guys. The last thing we need is a cold-blooded killer reinforcing that belief."

"It's your decision, Aang," Katara said, ignoring her brother.

Aang took a moment to mull things over. Of course, the gladiator seemed to be a little less hesitant about killing than the others, and he clearly was not the best firebending teacher for him, but he did wish to help. Besides, where else would he go if they just left him?

"Okay," He complied with a nod. "Um...What's your name?"

"Kalin," The gladiator replied.

"Kalin, you can come with us. But Sokka does have a point; we'll need you to at least try to restrain yourself."

Kalin smiled, pleased to have been accepted into the group. "I can avoid killing Fire Nation soldiers when I need to."

Although Sokka didn't seem as convinced as the others were, and clearly wasn't pleased with Aang's decision, he reluctantly sighed and stuck out his hand. "Well then, welcome to the team I guess, Kalin."

"Thanks." Kalin looked at the position of the moon and realized that it was close to midnight. "Are we staying in the sky all night, or are we going to land soon?"

"You don't like Appa?" Toph chided jokingly.

"We'll land soon," Aang assured him. "It's next to impossible to get any sleep up here."

Kalin leaned back in the spacious saddle and smiled. For the first time in months, he had a real chance to make a difference against the Fire Nation. Perhaps now he could finally get his revenge.

* * *

While all this was happening, somewhere in the wilderness a ways away, a small, flickering, red light could be seen from within the trees in the dark night. Two people were encamped in a clearing in the forest, with only a small fire to light their dark surroundings. One was stirring a pot of tea hanging over the fire, while the other lay asleep on the ground, twitching and shuffling as if locked in a nightmare.

Suddenly, the girl, one who looked around the age of fourteen with long, straight, black hair partly pulled up into a ponytail, bolted awake with a gasp. The other person, an elderly man with grey hair and a grey beard, paused in stirring his tea and looked up at her.

"Ky?" The old man called, looking a bit worriedly at the girl. "Are you okay?"

Ky hyperventilated, amber eyes darting around around nervously with her fist ready to blast fire if something jumped out at them. When she was fully sure that they were in no danger, she dropped her fist and turned to address the old man's question. "Sorry Iroh, I'm fine," she apologized, shaking her head.

Iroh seemed to smile a little when she had calmed down and resumed his stirring. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Ky nodded and moved to face the fire, drawing her legs up to her chin. "...It was about Zuko," she murmured in a low tone.

Iroh suddenly seemed alert. "Prince Zuko?" He asked, as he began to pour some tea, making sure they were talking about the same one.

The girl nodded again and stared into the dancing fire. "I'm worried about him," she admitted. "He's been gone for a while now. What if he's in trouble?" She was referring to Zuko's parting of ways with them nearly two weeks before. They had all left the Fire Nation together after being banished, but soon split up after an argument that caused Zuko to decide to leave the group.

Picking up one of the two teacups he had just filled, Iroh handed one of them to Ky before responding, "Prince Zuko is a strong person. I believe he will be fine."

Ky took the cup from him and dropped her legs from her chest, crossing them neatly in front of her. She didn't look so sure about Iroh's words however and glanced back into the dark woods surrounding them. "I'm not sure.. Azula's still out there, hunting us down.. What if she finds Zuko first? He doesn't stand a chance on his own!"

Iroh thoughtfully sipped some of his tea. "What exactly did you dream that would make you so worried?" he questioned her gently.

Ky looked down at her reflection in her teacup and brushed some of her bangs out of her face. "...Fire."

Her dream suddenly replayed in her mind. There was utter and complete darkness before it was lit ablaze by hungry blue flames. Everything burned, the destruction was great, and standing in the middle of it all was a crazed-looking Azula, laughing chaotically. The scene switched and Zuko was there, looking shocked. A blast of fire blew him back and he fell into a pit of gaping darkness, disappearing from sight with a loud cry.

Upon finishing her story, Ky realized she was shaking and took a quick drink of tea to steady herself.

Iroh studied the girl he had come to call his 'adopted daughter' over the last few years and pondered over what he had heard. "And you think this will happen while he is on his own?" he slowly asked, choosing his words carefully.

Ky shrugged and wrung her free hand in the air. "I don't know," she replied. "Maybe, maybe not, I might just be getting paranoid for all I know; it's just.." Her voice lowered. "Whenever I dream of fire, it never means good things."

Iroh paused in drinking at this sentence. It was true, this wasn't the first time Ky had dreamt about losing someone to fire. Each time it was someone different, but it always involved the fiery flames. He was beginning to suspect the fear was tied in somehow with her early life, as he didn't meet her until she was around six years old and knew nothing about her life before that, but he could never prove his theory. She never showed signs of fear of fire in real life, and seemed to be quite fine with bending the element itself. Perhaps it was one story he wasn't meant to know..

Seeing as Ky had fallen silent after her statement, the firebending master decided to speak up again. "Ky, if you believe that your dream is important, then perhaps we should take it seriously."

"But what if I'm wrong?" Ky questioned Iroh, giving him a hopeless look. "What if I'm worrying over nothing again?"

"It's at times like this that you must learn to trust your heart." Iroh softly told her, leaning forward to gently touch where her heart was located. "It will guide you in the right direction, just so long as your motives are pure and true."

Ky faintly smiled at him. Somehow, he always knew what to say that would cheer her up. True, she wasn't very sure of herself on this one, and was becoming even less sure of what she had been taught in the Fire Nation, but she was genuinely worried about Zuko, and knew his sister wouldn't show mercy just because they were related.

"So, what do you think? Do we go after him or not?" Iroh asked her.

Ky was quiet for a moment, then she nodded. "..We should."

Iroh nodded solemnly. "I thought you would say that. To be honest, I'm as concerned as you are." He then flashed a sly grin at her. "That is why we've been secretly following his path for days."

The firebender's mouth dropped open in shock. "What? We have?" Ky exclaimed. "Bu-but we went in opposite directions! How is that possible?"

"Anything is possible if you set your mind to it." Iroh replied, indirectly answering her question. He winked and put a finger to his mouth. "But don't tell Zuko. It's our little secret."

Ky felt a smile stretch across her face. Iroh was always one step ahead of everyone else. She nodded in agreement and laughed. "Okay. I'm sure he'd be pretty ticked if he found out anyways."

Iroh laughed as well; a very hearty one for his age. "Probably. He'd say something like-" At this point he began to impersonate Zuko, even pulling his face into a more Zuko-like one. "WHAT? You've been following me? Why would you do something like that?! RAH RAH RAH!"

Ky tried to suppress her laughter beneath her hand, but failed and burst out into fits of giggling as Iroh continued to impersonate the usually grumpy Zuko.

Iroh stopped after a minute and smiled warmly at the girl. "It is good to see you laughing again, my dear. The last time I saw you this much at ease was when Zuko spilled tea all over himself that one time because it was too hot."

Ky settled down and wiped some tears out of her eyes. "I guess I just feel more at ease out here than I do in the Fire Nation," she told him, her voice still lined with amusement.

Iroh nodded happily, then glanced down at the fire, which was beginning to die down. "Well, you should be getting back to bed. You'll need your strength tomorrow if we're going to catch up with Zuko. We'll leave first thing in the morning."

"Sounds good to me," Ky agreed, before handing him back the teacup. "Thank you for the tea." She bowed a good night to him and retreated back to her mat, lying down on it and closing her eyes again. No horrifying images played in her mind when she did so; the fear of her dream having completely melted away.

Iroh watched as Ky lay back down. She seemed to be over her nightmare, but it only unsettled him the more he thought about it. He hadn't told her, but he had had a similar dream when they were still hunting the Avatar down. He had almost completely written it off as paranoia, but when she mentioned having it too, his unsureness returned. It almost made him convinced that this was something they needed to pay careful attention to.

Looking up at the star filled sky visible from the clearing in the trees, Iroh sighed. He only hoped that Zuko would find his path in time, and the disaster forscene in their dreams would be averted. Focusing back on the fire, he waved his hands at the flames and put it out, plunging the campsite into darkness.


	3. Chapter III - The Abandoned Town

Chapter III

The next morning, Kalin was the first to wake up. The sun was just beginning to rise, giving the sky an orange tint to it. Taking a deep breath of the fresh, spring air, he walked over to the nearby freshwater creek to fill the extra canteen his new companions had given him when they set up camp for the night.

He could just see his reflection in the clear water, and lingered to observe it, as he had not seen his reflection in weeks. His face was bruised from the short, impromptu beating administered to him during his jailbreak from the day before, and he had not touched a razor in months, which was indicated by the dark stubble on his chin, cheeks, and upper lip. His dreadlocks were longer than he remembered as well, though this he did not mind so much, and the constant time spent indoors had turned his skin fairly pale. His amber-colored eyes had a serene, almost weary look to them, which was a stark contrast to the piercing, wrathful look they contained when he was in prison.

When Kalin had finished getting water and returned to the small camp, he noticed that Sokka and Katara had both just woken up, and were already starting to load Appa's saddle for another long day of travelling.

"Need help?" Kalin asked as he came up.

"No thanks," Sokka replied. "We've got it." He grabbed a dark red apple from a basket of food and tossed it to Kalin, who caught it and took a large bite.

"So where are we going?" Kalin asked between bites.

"Nowhere in particular yet," Katara replied. "We're just looking for a place where Aang can start to learn earthbending. Preferably, somewhere Fire Nation soldiers won't be able to find us."

"Wish I knew such a place," Kalin said. "Unfortunately, the Fire Nation's just about everywhere these days. The only place in the Earth Kingdom that I know they haven't controlled at some point is Ba Sing Se, and that's basically its own country."

"Will they allow earthbending training there?" Katara inquired curiously.

"Nope. They've got a bunch of stupid regulations you have to follow. For example, you need a license to be an earthbending instructor. And getting a license takes a couple years of teacher training."

"How do you know all that?" Sokka questioned.

"I lived in Ba Sing Se for several years. It was in the Lower Ring, which makes it even worse. Trust me; you want nothing to do with Ba Sing Se."

Katara took note of the bitter look in his eyes, but did not press the issue any further. Whatever had happened in Ba Sing Se, he clearly did not wish to talk about it. Not yet, at least.

Sokka jumped down from Appa's saddle and handed Kalin a razor. "Here. You really need this." He then paused. "And we probably need to get you different clothes, too. You'll be noticed in that prison uniform."

Kalin looked down at the grubby attire he was wearing. "You're right. Maybe there's a village nearby where we can barter for some."

"We'll keep an eye out for one," Sokka assured him. "But don't go crazy. We only have so much money to spend." He then looked up and down at Kalin, taking note of his height. "Then again, we'll probably have a hard time just finding something that'll fit."

"Good point." Kalin looked over at Aang and Toph, both of whom were still asleep. "Hey, should I wake those two up so that we can get going? Or can we afford to take our time?"

"Nah, go ahead," Sokka replied with a shrug. "The less time we spend in one place, the harder it will be for the Fire Nation to find us."

Kalin nodded, then turned around and walked over to Aang, nudging him in the shoulder. "We've gotta get going before the Fire Nation can find us."

Aang groaned and rubbed his eyes with his fists, but got up nonetheless. He then woke up Toph, and they helped Kalin pack Appa's saddle. Once Appa's saddle was all packed and Kalin had gotten rid of the stubble on his face, they departed, blissfully unaware that they were being watched.

* * *

The hot, mid-morning sun beat down on Zuko and his stolen ostrich horse, which dutifully carried him across the parched and cracked earth. The prince's stomach rumbled furiously, as he had not eaten all day, and to make matters worse, his canteen had run dry. But not heat, nor thirst, nor hunger could burden him as much as his own thoughts.

_I should have never left them. _He thought to himself as he rode along. _What was I thinking taking off like that? I guess I just wanted some time to myself to think, but now I'm not so sure that was the best idea._

He had been on his own for several weeks now, filling up his water where he could and eating whatever food he could get a hold of, all while traveling in no specific direction, with no specific destination in mind. He often found himself wondering about how his uncle Iroh and Ky were holding up, or if any Fire Nation soldiers had captured them yet, but always found himself pushing the thoughts away. No, if they had gotten caught, then they deserved it.

But then again, the other part of him knew he was just as guilty in his father and his sister's eyes as they were. To know they were now split up with no method of contact was becoming slightly nerve wracking for the dishonored prince, as much as he didn't want to admit it.

It was only natural, he supposed. Iroh was the closest thing to a father he had ever had, and although he was still looking to win back his real father's approval, he couldn't deny the kindness to which Iroh had shown him.

And then there was Ky. The female firebender had come along into Zuko's life when he was still young, and, despite not being a part of the royal family, was allowed to spend time with both the prince and the princess because of her connections with Iroh. Although he never quite understood her odd fear of everyone but Iroh, she eventually warmed up to him and became one of Zuko's closest friends.

Those two were the only ones who had cared anything about him over the past three years. And how had he thanked them? He spat in both their faces and left, simply because he saw no further need for them. What kind of a friend was he?

He stopped at a stream so the ostrich horse could have a drink of water. As the animal drank, Zuko re-filled his canteen, which was mostly empty by now, and took an old painting from the bag which held his few belongings. It was a painting of himself at age thirteen, still with the high ponytail and without the scar that marred the area around his left eye. Beside him was a girl around his age, with elaborately styled black hair and dressed in black and maroon robes. She was smiling ever so slightly, which Zuko remembered she very rarely did.

Zuko sighed. "I miss you, Mai." He gave himself a moment to stare vacantly over the horizon, longing to be back at the Fire Nation, before remounting the ostrich horse and continuing on his way. He really had no idea where he was going, but he figured he'd show up somewhere eventually. From there, he'd just have to figure out what he was going to do, now that he was an outcast. He could always go back to his original plan to try and hunt down the Avatar, in hopes that his father would take him back in good graces, but on the other hand, he now had the option of turning over a new leaf and starting a new life among the many villages and towns scattered throughout the land. He could get a good job, maybe meet a nice girl, and raise a family under another name.

No. Zuko shook his head. That life didn't sound pleasing to him. Right now, more than anything, he wanted to make things right and return to the life he had always imagined he'd have. To give up on a search that had taken him three years would be to admit that he had wasted three years of his life. More importantly, to give up would bring him much dishonor.

With his head a jumble with all these thoughts and more, Zuko continued to ride until he realized his stead was starting to get tired. As much as he didn't want to stop so soon, he knew that the ostrich horse was his only reasonable method of transportation, and resting for a few hours was better than going it on foot. He was a much easier target and Azula, or whoever it was pursuing him, would quickly catch up. With a reluctant sigh, the firebender began to search for some place out of the sun that they could take a break.

That's when a strange sight caught his eye. Squinting to make sure he wasn't just seeing things, Zuko realized that there was what appeared to be a broken down town further ahead. After a moment of verifying that it indeed wasn't an illusion, he lightly slapped the reins on the ostrich horse, causing it to break into a jog in that direction.

The tired ostrich horse jogged to the nearest building and no further. Zuko dismounted again and tied a rope from one of the wooden posts to the ostrich horse's leg.

"You're the only way I can get anywhere, so I can't let you run away," he explained, not expecting any response.

He walked into the derelict, wooden building and saw that its interior was very poorly lit. He quickly conjured a small flame with his fingertips to light his way as he explored. The building had most likely been an inn at one point; as evidenced by the large room on the first floor that was filled with old tables, some chairs, and even a bar, behind which was a collection of rather strong beverages. Upstairs, there were several doors which led to identical bedrooms. He could tell by the smell of all of them that nobody had been up here in quite a long time, likely years. The furniture was coated in inches of dust, and he stumbled across several spiders which had staked out their territory in dark corners. It was hardly an ideal place to stay, but it was certainly more appealing than sleeping under the stars in arid terrain. Sighing to himself, he picked out one of the relatively cleaner rooms, lay down on the small bed, and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
